Aboriginal mitogenomes reveal 50,000 years of regionalism in Australia
Abstract
Aboriginal Australians represent one of the longest
continuous cultural complexes known. Archaeological evidence indicates
that Australia and New Guinea were initially settled approximately 50
thousand years ago (ka); however, little is known about the processes
underlying the enormous linguistic and phenotypic diversity within
Australia. Here we report 111 mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) from
historical Aboriginal Australian hair samples, whose origins enable us
to reconstruct Australian phylogeographic history before European
settlement. Marked geographic patterns and deep splits across the major
mitochondrial haplogroups imply that the settlement of Australia
comprised a single, rapid migration along the east and west coasts that
reached southern Australia by 49–45 ka. After continent-wide
colonization, strong regional patterns developed and these have survived
despite substantial climatic and cultural change during the late
Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. Remarkably, we find evidence for the
continuous presence of populations in discrete geographic areas dating
back to around 50 ka, in agreement with the notable Aboriginal
Australian cultural attachment to their country.
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